新编大学英语阅读部分第二册Unit6-1
时间:2018-12-29 作者:英语课 分类:新编大学英语阅读部分
Unit 6
Nature and Nurture 1
In-Class Reading
Twins, Genes 2, and Environment
I. Word List
Directions: Memorize the following words and phrases before class. You will benefit from your effort when you get the passage from your teacher and read it in class.
Proper Names
Detroit
底特律(美国密歇根州东南部港市)
Gladys
(女子名)格莱蒂丝
Ohio
俄亥俄(美国州名)
0ntario
安大略省(位于加拿大中部)
Rockies
落基山脉(Rocky Mountains, 位于北美洲西部)
New Words
approximately *
adv. 大概,大约
e.g. There were approximately 50 people there.
considerable *
adj. fairly large or great 相当大的,相当多的
e.g. There was a considerable amount of memory work.
considering
prep. taking into consideration 考虑到
environmental *
adj. 环境的
e.g. Should we take this boy away because of the bad environmental influences?
exhibit *
v. show a particular quality, feeling, or type of behavior 显示,显出
e.g. The economy continued to exhibit signs of decline in September.
graceful 3 *
adj. behaving in a polite and pleasant way 优雅的
e.g. She finally apologized, but she wasn't graceful about it.
heredity
n. 遗传
illustrate 4 *
v. make the meaning of (something) clearer by giving related examples 阐明,说明
e.g. The lecturer illustrated 5 his point with a diagram (图表) on the blackboard.
infancy 6
n. 婴儿期,幼儿期
interact *
v. 相互作用,相互影响
e.g. All things are interrelated (互相联系的) and interact on each other.
knit *
v. 编织
liable *
adj. likely 有......的倾向
e.g. We are all liable to make mistakes.
likeness 7 *
n. 相似之处
e.g. All my children share a strong likeness.
mill *
n. 工厂
e.g. a cotton mill
observable *
adj. 看得到的,觉察得到的
e.g. That distant star is observable on a dark night.
orphanage 8
n. 孤儿院
polish *
n. 优雅,文雅
e.g. Travel with polite people gives polish to a girl's manners.
predestination
n. 命运,造化
remarkably 9 *
adv. unusually, noticeably 不同寻常地,相当地
e.g. She was a remarkably good cook.
resemblance *
n. 相像
e.g. Twins often show great resemblance.
severe *
adj. very serious 严重的
e.g. She said that the pain was becoming increasingly severe.
similarity *
n. 相似,类似
e.g. There is not much similarity between the two brothers.
southeastern *
adj. 东南部的
substantially *
adv. 基本上,在本质上
e.g. Our opinions are substantially the same.
twin *
n. 双胞胎
unseparated *
adj. 未分离的
unstable 10 *
adj. 不稳定的
e.g. I would describe her as emotionally unstable.
vacuum *
n. 真空
Twins, Genes, and Environment
1 Heredity or environment: which is stronger? The potentials which a person is born with determine in some way what he will do in life. Therefore heredity is fate, a kind of predestination. However, genes do not work in a vacuum; as soon as we begin considering the role that they play in the development of the individual, we see that there can be no development without the interacting environment. No characteristic is caused exclusively by either environment or genes.
2 The relative effects of heredity and environment are most clearly observable in identical twins. Most identical twins are raised together and are remarkably alike in both appearance and behavior. These cases demonstrate that individuals with the same genes, when raised in the same environment, will respond to it in much the same way. They do not indicate what would happen if these identical individuals were raised separately.
3 A number of studies have been made of identical twins raised apart. The twins who were the subjects of these studies lived in America, were raised in much the same physical environments, and experienced much the same nutritional 11 histories. Therefore, as one might expect, they maintained the closest resemblance to each other in physical appearance, height, and weight. Exceptions occurred when one twin had developed a rather severe illness and the other had not; but on the whole everyone is impressed by the great psychological and physical likenesses that exist between identical twins, even those who have been separated from infancy.
4 In a study of nineteen sets of twins who had been separated from birth, investigators 12 found that in approximately two thirds of the sets there were no more significant differences than existed among unseparated pairs of twins. This strongly suggests the power of the genes and the limitation of the effect of environment. However, it must be remembered that, although the identical twins who were studied lived in different families far removed from each other, the environments in those families were not, on the whole, substantially different. Usually every effort would be made to put each child in a home with a background similar to that of its own family, and therefore it should not be surprising to find that the twins developed similarly. But in those cases in which there had been a greater difference in the environments of the separated twins, the differences between the twins were more substantial. The following case illustrates 13 what happens to identical twins when they are brought up in contrasting environments.
5 Gladys and Helen were born in a small Ohio town and were separated at about eighteen months of age. They did not meet again until they were twenty-eight years old. Helen had been adopted twice. Her first foster parents had proved to be unstable, and Helen had been returned to the orphanage after a couple of years; after several months she was again adopted, by a farmer and his wife who lived in southeastern Michigan. This was her home for the next twenty-five years. Her second foster-mother, though she had had few educational advantages herself, was determined 14 that Helen should receive a good education; Helen eventually graduated from college, taught school for twelve years, married at twenty-six, and had a daughter.
6 Gladys was adopted by a Canadian railroad conductor and his wife. When she was in the third grade, the family moved to a rather isolated 15 part of the Canadian Rockies, where there were no schools, and Gladys' formal education came to an end, and was not resumed until the family moved to Ontario. She stayed at home and did housework until she was seventeen, and then went to work in a knitting mill. She went to Detroit at nineteen, got a job, and married when she was twenty-one.
7 Helen had been healthier than Gladys, in childhood and adulthood 16, but other than that, their environments had been very similar except for their educations. Their weight, height, hair color, and teeth were very similar. The differences that distinguished 17 them were obviously associated with the different social lives they had led.
8 Helen was confident, graceful, made the most of her personal appearance, and showed considerable polish and ease in social relationships. Gladys was shy, self-conscious, quiet and without charming or graceful manners. A scientist who studied them remarked, "As an advertisement for a college education the contrast between these two twins should be quite effective."
9 Considering the nature of their environmental experiences, the differences in Helen and Gladys are not surprising. Since psychological traits depend so much upon experience, it is to be expected that they will reflect it. On the other hand, traits that are not liable to be influenced by the environment are more likely to exhibit a high degree of similarity in identical twins. Important as they are, genes alone are never absolutely responsible for any trait. What we can do is set by the genes, but what we actually do is largely determined by the environment. (830 words)
Time taken: __________ minutes
Phrases and Expressions
be liable to do something
be likely to do something 可能做某事
e.g. They are liable to run away if you speak to them.
be responsible for
be the cause of 作为......的原因
e.g. The storm was responsible for most of the damage.
bring up
educate and care for a child until he/she is grown up 抚养,养育
e.g. He left her to bring up three young children on her own.
come to an end
finish, end 结束
e.g. The meeting came to an end at last.
make the most of
get the most advantage of a situation 充分利用
e.g. You should be outside making the most of the sunshine.
no more...than...
不比......更......
e.g. You are no more capable of speaking Chinese than I am. 你说汉语的能力并不比我强。(意为两个人都说得不太好。)
on the whole
considering everything 总的来说
e.g. On the whole they got on very well with him.
respond to
do something in reply, react 响应,作出反应
e.g. The government has responded to pressure by moving towards reform.
- The tree grows well in his nurture.在他的培育下这棵树长得很好。
- The two sisters had received very different nurture.这俩个姊妹接受过极不同的教育。
- You have good genes from your parents, so you should live a long time. 你从父母那儿获得优良的基因,所以能够活得很长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- Differences will help to reveal the functions of the genes. 它们间的差异将会帮助我们揭开基因多种功能。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 生物技术的世纪
- His movements on the parallel bars were very graceful.他的双杠动作可帅了!
- The ballet dancer is so graceful.芭蕾舞演员的姿态是如此的优美。
- The company's bank statements illustrate its success.这家公司的银行报表说明了它的成功。
- This diagram will illustrate what I mean.这个图表可说明我的意思。
- He came to England in his infancy.他幼年时期来到英国。
- Their research is only in its infancy.他们的研究处于初级阶段。
- I think the painter has produced a very true likeness.我认为这位画家画得非常逼真。
- She treasured the painted likeness of her son.她珍藏她儿子的画像。
- They dispensed new clothes to the children in the orphanage.他们把新衣服发给孤儿院的小孩们。
- They gave the proceeds of the sale to the orphanage.他们把销售的收入给了这家孤儿院。
- I thought she was remarkably restrained in the circumstances. 我认为她在那种情况下非常克制。
- He made a remarkably swift recovery. 他康复得相当快。
- This bookcase is too unstable to hold so many books.这书橱很不结实,装不了这么多书。
- The patient's condition was unstable.那患者的病情不稳定。
- A diet lacking in nutritional value will not keep a person healthy.缺乏营养价值的饮食不能维持人的健康。
- The labels on food products give a lot of information about their nutritional content.食品上的标签提供很多关于营养成分的信息。
- This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
- The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- This historical novel illustrates the breaking up of feudal society in microcosm. 这部历史小说是走向崩溃的封建社会的缩影。
- Alfred Adler, a famous doctor, had an experience which illustrates this. 阿尔弗莱德 - 阿德勒是一位著名的医生,他有过可以说明这点的经历。 来自中级百科部分
- I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
- He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。
- His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
- Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。
- Some infantile actions survive into adulthood.某些婴儿期的行为一直保持到成年期。
- Few people nowadays are able to maintain friendships into adulthood.如今很少有人能将友谊维持到成年。
- Elephants are distinguished from other animals by their long noses.大象以其长长的鼻子显示出与其他动物的不同。
- A banquet was given in honor of the distinguished guests.宴会是为了向贵宾们致敬而举行的。